Improving Motivation and Treatment Uptake Behaviours of Patients With Eating Disorders Using Patient Narrative Videos: Results of a Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

Background Patient narratives are personal stories of affected persons regarding their illness/recovery journeys. This study assessed the potential uses of patient narrative videos to address the current treatment gap in a clinical sample of patients with eating disorders (ED). Methods Using a 4‐arm randomised controlled pilot trial, n = 91 female patients with an ED watched a (patient) narrative video featuring (1) lived experiences with ED, (2) psychotherapist experiences of ED, (3) lived experiences with a somatic condition, or (4) no video. Main outcomes included treatment motivation and treatment uptake behaviours at 1 week (T2) and 3 months (T3) follow‐up. Results Patients in all conditions reported increased treatment motivation and reduced ED psychopathology over time. Patients who watched a (patient) narrative video reported increased treatment uptake behaviours at T3 in comparison to patients who watched no video. Patients who watched the patient narrative video featuring a somatic condition further reported significantly increased feelings of hope towards treatment immediately after watching the video. Patients rated the patient narrative video featuring lived experiences with ED as significantly more authentic and useful than the video featuring a somatic condition. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that watching (patient) narrative videos can significantly affect treatment uptake behaviours. The development of further evidence‐based patient narratives focussing on ambivalence could therefore be a useful adjunct to early intervention approaches. Trial Registration DRKS00033709; https://www.drks.de/DRKS00033709